Like sand through the hourglass, so goes the soap opera that is Dwight Howard’s relationship with the Orlando Magic. Seriously, has any ahtlete created as much drama over a sustained period of time than Dwight Howard? At least LeBron James had the decency to keep The Decision to an hour. At least there were only so many situps Terrell Owens could do in his driveway. Ok… maybe Dwight’s not as dramatic as Brett Favre, but we’re reaching that kind of dangerous territory…

After that nightmarish on-again, off-again trade deadline saga was finally resolved with Dwight signing a waiver to stay in Orlando through 2013, it was going to be all smooth sailing for the Magic… right? Not so fast my friend!

Today at a press conference, Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy admitted to reporters that Dwight Howard has asked for him to be fired throughout the season. Their player-coach relationship has been rocky over the years, but to hear a coach publicly admit that his star player wants him fired akin to pressing the big red button on their relationship. (Keep in mind the Magic are still somehow fifth in the Eastern Conference despite their own skullduggery.) When reporters start to ask Van Gundy more questions about the situation with Dwight wanting him fired, he plays the situation calmly with a dash of “I don’t give a f*ck.” Hey, Pat Riley basically did the same thing to him, so at least this isn’t Stan’s first rodeo.

But it’s when Dwight Howard walks in on Stan Van Gundy talking about the situation where this interview really takes off. Dwight puts his arm around Stan for a few uneasy seconds. Van Gundy casually leaves Howard to answer questions about trying to get him fired. Unbelievably, Dwight Howard then tries to deny what his head coach had said mere minutes earlier. The whole thing is an absurd circus, but at this point, what else would you expect from Dwight Howard…

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NocsnNyNdCY

The Magic should go ahead and put Stan Van Gundy out of his misery. Who wouldn’t want to see Stan joining his brother Jeff in the ESPN booth, hosting a PTI style debate show, or starring in a buddy comedy together. Free Stan Van Gundy.

About Matt Yoder

Award winning sportswriter at The Comeback and Awful Announcing. The biggest cat in the whole wide world.